Praying for Wisdom in Trials
Text: James 1:5-8
Message #: 3 of
Date Preached: February 1, 2009 (AM Service)
Exegetical Idea
In verses 2-4 James has told his readers that the trials they are going through have a positive result – it will result in their maturity therefore they should respond to their trials with joy. But what does God want us to do in the midst of trials and what does He want us to learn as a result of the trials. It is very easy to get “lost in the trees” in the midst of trials. James responds to these questions by commanding (imperative) the believers to ask (αἰτείτω)God, who, by His very nature, is giving in which it is his single, undivided intent to give us all the wisdom we need, and to give it without insult or reproach. But there is a condition to answered prayer – the prayer must be asked “in faith without any doubting.” The remaining verses (6b-8) states that this person who doubts should not expect God to answer his prayers because his doubts reflect that he is not totally loyal to God but is divided between God and the world.
Universal Idea (Big Idea)
Believers that doubt God should not expect an answer to their prayers for wisdom.
God doesn’t give 2nd opinions, he gives the only answer!
Purpose of Preaching
We live in a world that seems to have all the answers to life’s problems, so much so that we tend to turn to them when we go through trials rather than turning to God. Oprah’s advice seems to bear more weight than God’s. The main focus in this passage is on the one who doubts. The person who has faith has a “wholehearted attitude of a full and unquestioning committal to and dependence upon God”[1], whereas the one who doubts does not wholly depend on God, but instead turns to the world and its resources in the times of trials.
As believers we need to come to have one loyalty – God alone. So the question is – are we going to turn to God and trust in Him completely in the times of trials (and everyday living) or are we going to have a divided loyalty between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world? This divided loyalty is a mark of instability in our lives which impacts every part of our spiritual walk with the Lord.
The mark of maturity that James is exhorting us to gain is 100% reliance on God to guide and direct our steps in life, in good times and especially in times of trials. If we rely on God wholeheartedly than He has promised to give us the wisdom we need, otherwise we should not expect God to answer our prayers.
Outline
I. Introduction
II. The Promise of Answered Prayer (1:5)
a. The need of wisdom in times of trials
b. The nature of wisdom – Not knowledge but understanding
i. Understanding as to how God wants us to respond in the midst of the trials
ii. Understanding as to what God wants to accomplish with the trial
c. The source of wisdom
i. God
ii. Scriptures
d. The command to ask God for wisdom
i. He gives with sincerity and single minded intent
ii. He doesn’t give with insult or reproach
e. The promise of answered prayer
III. The Unanswered Prayer of Doubters (1:6-8)
a. The condition of answered prayer
i. In faith (6a)
ii. Without doubting (6a)
b. The nature of the doubter (6b)
i. Illustrated by nature
c. Wrong expectation of the doubter (7)
d. The inner attitude of the doubter (8)
IV. Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
This question may seem strange, but have you ever thought about why we seek after 2nd opinions?
· Sometimes we seek a second opinion to save some money – You wanted to do some home repair so you get one contractor in to give you an estimate, and then the next day you get another one in so you can get a 2nd opinion.
· Sometimes we seek a second opinion to make sure you are not being taken advantage of – Your car broke down and you took it a mechanic who said you needed a whole new engine, whereas the 2nd mechanic said all it needed was a fuel pump.
· Sometimes we seek a second opinion to find a more qualified person to handle a problem – it is not uncommon to go to a second or even third doctor to get their opinions about treatment options depending on the severity of your health problem.
I’m sure there are many other reasons we seek out a 2nd opinion, but at the heart of the issue is that you and I seek out 2nd opinions so we can have the ability to choose the best course of action.
While there is no problem with getting second opinions for the car, your health or your home, there is a problem when we take the mentality of seeking a 2nd opinion into the spiritual realm, especially in the times of trials as we will see shortly.
Let’s set the context for today’s study. As we learned last week in James 1:2-4, God allows us to go through various, unexpected and hard trials in life for the purpose of bringing us to full spiritual maturity with the expectation that we respond to trails in the proper way – with joy!
I don’t know about you, but when I am in the midst of a trial I don’t always understand how God wants me to respond. I learn that a coworker is gossiping behind my back – how do I respond? My new boss is overbearing and demanding making my job totally miserable – what do I do now? Ever been there, not knowing how God wants us to respond?
Turn you Bibles to the book of James, chapter 1. Today we are going to be looking at verses 5-8 where James is going to answer our question of how do we know what we are to do in the midst of suffering as well as teaching us how NOT to respond.
[READ James 1:5-8]
James first starts out in verse 5 with telling us the correct response in the midst of trials.
[READ James 1:5]
The first thing to recognize is our need for wisdom in the times of trials. Although James says that full maturity would mean that we wouldn’t lack anything, the reality is that we all have a long way to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ therefore we are lacking wisdom.
But what is wisdom and why do we need it? In its Jewish context the wisdom James is talking about is not knowledge but understanding. It is understanding how God wants us to respond in the midst of trials, as well as the understanding as to what God wants to accomplish with the trial.
So, if you lack wisdom, if you don’t know how to respond in the midst of this trial or wanting to understand what God wants to teach you from this trial, then James says, ask God for the wisdom.
How do we gain the wisdom?
1. Through prayer and the leading of the Spirit
2. Through the study of Scripture and the Spirit’s divine illumination of them
3. Through the godly counsel of other believers
“Let us ask” is a command, not a suggestion in the original language. That means guys – God wants us to stop and ask directions when going through the times of trials.
James then goes on to describe the God in which we are to ask for wisdom. First thing that James says is that God is by nature is characterized by giving and that He gives to anyone who asks. We have John 3:16,
"“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NASB95)
The second description that James gives of God is that He gives generously. It is true that God gives above and beyond what we can think or ask (see Ephesians 3:20)? But there is also another way of translating the Greek word. In the Greek Old Testament this word is translated – “sincerity, single, undivided” so what James is saying here is that when we ask God for wisdom in the midst of trials,
“He gives without ulterior motives, harboring no calculated desire to get something in return.”[2]
So it is Biblical to say that when we need wisdom in the midst of trials we can turn to God because it is His single, sincere intent to give it to us and when He gives it to us it will be in a generously, overflowing amount.
So it is God’s #1 priority to give us wisdom in the midst of trials, but then James goes onto explain the manner in which He gives us the wisdom – without reproach.
D. Edmond Hiebert describes what James is saying,
God does not respond to our petition and then heap insults upon us for asking. He does not give in a way which humiliates the receiver. He does not scold because we have inadequately used His former gifts, or rebuke us for our repeated lack of wisdom.[3]
God doesn’t roll his eyes and sigh when he hears our voice. He doesn’t say, ‘haven’t you learned yet?’
Instead, we have the promise – He WILL give us wisdom when we ask.
BUT!!!
There is a condition in which we are to ask
[READ James 1:6-8]
We are to ask in faith without any doubting
To ask in faith involves two things:
1. It means to be 100%, without question, committed to and dependent on God for the answer. It is a complete trust in the character of God and that He is willing and able to answer.
2. It means committing to do what God says to do in answer to our prayer – complete obedience.
Illustration – Someone has really hurt you and you want to respond in an appropriate way. Asking by faith means that you are not going to God for His opinion¸ but rather His will. After much study the Lord directs you to Ephesians 4:32 and you know that you have to forgive that person. Without hesitation you go and forgive the person.
We now come to the Negative response in the midst of trials – asking for wisdom with doubting.
In order to understand what James is saying here we need to understand that the word translated doubting and the one who doubts is translated elsewhere in Scripture as judging, to take issue or to examine and choose between something.
This is a believer that internally is indecisive. He doesn’t know where to turn to in times of trouble. Turning to God is not his only response. He or she might turn to Oprah or Dr. Phil or the latest financial genius instead of turning to God first. When he does turn to God it is not with 100% commitment or dependence with little confidence that God is willing or able to answer them. This shouldn’t be surprising because his or her prayer life is not consistent and when they do prayer it is simply a means of letting God know what he wants, not seeking out God’s will.
Therefore this doubting believer is torn between the world’s wisdom and God’s wisdom in the midst of trials. Instead of looking to God as the only source for answers, He simply becomes a 2nd opinion for his consideration, something he might or might not do. As Heibert says, “It is an inner unwillingness to rely wholly upon God.”[4]
There is no stability inside him that anchors his faith. Doubting is a mark of his life and is his life reflects it as James goes on to illustrate.
He is like – this the state of the man who doubts – what James is going to describe is the characteristic of his life – he is like giant waves being blown around by the wind. Just like waves that are blown from side to side and then brought up high only for the wind to bring them crashing down so is the life of the person who doubts.
[Read James 1:7]
This is a pretty strong statement – James is saying, the doubter better change his expectations – because as long as he doubts God is not going to give him any wisdom in regards to his situation. The key to gaining wisdom in trials is to ask in faith – complete reliance on God and the obedience to do what He tells us to do, otherwise believers that doubt God should not expect an answer to their prayers for wisdom.
In other words, God don’t look to God for a 2nd opinions, He only grants wisdom to those who look to Him for the ONLY opinion.
[Read James 1:8]
James concludes with describing the character of the doubter – he is double-minded. It is like he has two personalities inside him. One part of him wants to obey God while the other wants to follow the world, with the world winning the majority of the battles. And as a result this believer is unstable in all his ways. He is not strong in his walk with the Lord.
This person lacks a solid foundation and in all his ways – his thinking, his speech, his actions are not consistent. He does not love God with his whole heart, mind and soul. He has a divided loyalty to God and the world in which is reflected in his faith and action.
CONCLUSION
James has given us two ways a believer can respond to trials – he can pray in faith for wisdom from God – and he has the promise of wisdom. The other choice is to pray with doubt – which reflects a divided loyalty, lack of trust in God which is evident in his walk of faith with the Lord – of which the Lord promises not to answer.
In what way do you pray? With faith or in doubt? Both reflect the depth of your relationship with the Lord.
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[1] D. Edmond Hiebert, The Epistle of James, p. 83.
[2] Hiebert, p. 82.
[3] Hiebert, p. 82.
[4] Hiebert, 84.